Blue Sky School

You may have read Grace’s post, the one about our science project. This is sort of the second instillation- the Part 2, if you will. At the beginning of the year, Shauna caught word of ORSF, the Ottawa Regional Science Fair. No one was really eager to participate in the fair except for Grace, who, after the presentation, asked me if I wanted to help. I had no idea why she wanted me, of all people to help, but I said yes anyways. Neither of us had any idea what we were going to do, but we had some ideas. Both of us are quite passionate about global warming, so we brainstormed some things and settled on the amount of methane that is emitted by livestock: specifically, cows. While researching, we discovered that onions, garlic, and a special type of seaweed called asparagopsis taxiformis could reduce the methane produced by cows. We decided that asparagopsis taxiformis was our best option, because after eating it, the taste of the cows’ milk wasn't affected, which we coul...

(image source) “What! Oregano? Really?” This was my exact reaction when I found out that small, commonly-found-in-pasta plant, oregano was the cure to one of the biggest aspects of climate change, the evil, treacherous, methane packed cow burps and farts! Apparently, if you only mix three percent of oregano into the cows feed then it is supposed to reduce the methane by thirty-two percent! Additionally, the amazing plant is also rumoured to increase the prevention of getting disease in cows! The plant is also known to grow very fast and in any condition. This plant is truly a miracle worker! Researchers at Aarhus University believe that adding oregano to a cow's diet would alter the balance of bacteria in their digestive systems and reduce the amount of methane released. Source When I heard this, I knew there were only a few more tasks we had to do if we really wanted this experiment a reality! Now this is my call to action! We have a methane detector, we are growi...